Design Toolkit for Library Integrations

Are you looking for a specific database? Try our A to Z list.

Students' skill level with library resources can vary widely. If students need a more focused approach, we've provided some options on this page for you to consider. 

If you choose to use links in any of the methods listed here, we recommend that you also view this guide on persistent links:

Students off-site will not be able to access links within our collection if you do not use the persistent link (also called a permalink) to a resource. 

What would you like to do here? Use our shortcut links:

• Link to a Database
• Link to a Search String
• Link to an Individual Resource
• Link to a Tutorial
• Link to a Course Guide

Sending students to a specific database, rather than asking them to search all of DragonQuest, can have huge advantages. Among those advantages are:

• A narrowed search experience

There are well over 100 databases inside DragonQuest, in addition to items only indexed and not available full text. Narrowing the search experience can produce fewer results, but in a more focused situation for introductory level students.

• A discipline-specific focus

We have multi-disciplinary as well as discipline-specific resources. If you want to ensure that students are searching discipline-specific material, focusing their search in a specific direction can help.

• A resource-specific focus

Some resources, such as the Electronic Journal Center, contain only scholarly publications. Other resources, such as Nexis Uni, contain a large collection of newspaper articles. Sometimes parts of the collections housed in these databases are not available in DragonQuest. You can focus the students' experience by sending them to an individual resource which guarantees subject coverage in a specific medium.

Students can find the A to Z list in the Find Library Resources box throughout the library website. You can also insert this link into your course to take them there directly:

The following image also shows the location of the share option for specific databases in the A to Z list:

Linking to a search you've conducted in DragonQuest provides the most focused approach for introductory level students. The following image shows the share feature inside DragonQuest which allows you to send students to a specific search:

Some advantages to this technique include:

• Providing a reusable search for students. They can change search terms at the top of the window, but keep any limitations you set under Refine Results.
• Links which update automatically as time, and our collection, changes. As new resources are added to the collection, they automatically appear in the list. If you utilize the refine feature to limit by publication date, that will also update as time moves forward if the "end" date is the current year. 

DragonQuest allows for linking to resources at various tiers. You can:

• Link to an individual publication
• Link to an individual article
• Link to an individual eBook
• Link to an individual chapter of (some) eBooks

The following image shows the Tools menu where the share feature can be located for specific resources:

As new databases are added to our collection, we work to develop tutorials to walk students through their navigation. Our existing list of tutorials can be found at the following link: 

If we don't have a tutorial for a specific resource you'd like to use in your course, please contact the following.

For online courses, contact us at library@tiffin.edu.

For seated courses, please fill out the following form:

Library guides, known as course guides, can also be constructed to follow along with the research strategies needed to prepare students to successfully complete individual assignments in your course. These resources can then be linked into your online course or course companion just the same as any other website. 

If you'd like to request a course guide for an online course, please email us at library@tiffin.edu.

If you'd like to request a course guide for a seated course, please fill out the following request form: